Not PAJ’s job to condemn offensive publications — Jackson Miller
KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) says condemning offensive publications is not part of its purpose or functions as an organisation.
Responding to calls to condemn a controversial headline recently on the front page of ‘The Star’ newspaper, PAJ President Dionne Jackson Miller said it a letter today that “While I understand the public’s desire to have an industry-specific organisation speak out in such cases, this is not, and should not be, the role of the Press Association of Jamaica. The PAJ was not established for this purpose and its Constitution does not list this as a function of the organisation.”
Noting that the executive and the wider membership of the Press Association of Jamaica are made up of working reporters and editors from the very media houses which would be condemned, Jackson Miller said that this purpose would be inappropriate since no one should be a judge in her or his own cause.
The PAJ president said in cases that are not clear cut, the organisation could seldom avoid immediate accusations of bias given the composition of the PAJ.
She said what should be the discussion “is not the role of the PAJ in this but the establishment of an independent self-regulatory Media Council to which such complaints can be referred”.
Jackson Miller said this has been mooted for years and has been consistently supported by the body she now heads.
She said in 2005, the PAJ through a UNESCO-funded project developed its Code of Ethics, which, it was intended, would be followed by the establishment of a Media Council to adjudicate on breaches. The move has also been supported by past presidents Byron Buckley and Jenni Campbell, according to Jackson Miller.
The discussion however, she said, cannot go ahead without the agreement and participation of the media owners, who, through the Media Association of Jamaica, have consistently opposed such a proposal.
Jackson Miller said the PAJ is more than willing to continue to facilitate the dialogue, but wants it clearly understood that this is not a job that the association can, or should, take on.
